Dolores M. Gunn

Dolores Gunn, 77, of Coloma, passed away on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 at her son?s home in Okemos, MI. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, April 16th, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 211 Church Street, St. Joseph, MI with Msgrs. Thomas Martin & Eugene Sears as co-celebrants. Burial will follow in North Shore Memory Gardens, Coloma, MI. Visitation with the family will be held on Friday, April 15th, from 5-8 P.M.with a Rosary being said at 8:00 P.M. Memorials in her memory may be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church. Friends wishing to sign the guestbook on line may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com.Dolores Hotton Gunn was born January 26, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois, where she grew up and graduated from Notre Dame High School. She moved to Coloma, Michigan in the late 40s as the bride of John Calvin Gunn. Her only child, Craig James, was born in 1948. Dolores was a trained operatic singer and continued her formal training until the 1970s. During this time she competed in the Chicagoland Music Festival and achieved a third place trophy and the opportunity to audition in New York at the Metropolitan Opera. She also sang with the Studebaker Male Chorus as its female soloist until the dissolution of the chorus in the 1950s. Her primary musical focus, though, was the adult choir of St. Joseph Catholic Church in St. Joseph, Michigan. During the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, she continued to direct both the choir and the music program at St. Joseph?s.This music work was always a true love; for during this time, she always carried full-time positions with organizations, which included the American Society for Horticultural Science and the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. Whether these positions involved managing the office or acting as an editor for monthly magazines, she devoted her time to both the vocation and the avocation equally. This required a large commitment of time and effort. The time and effort did not dissuade her from devoting multiple hours to many other activities. These included a ten-year devotion to the Genealogical Society of Southwestern Michigan as editor and publisher of its publications and officer positions in the Lakeland Choral Society and the Monday Musical Club. Productions and singing in these musical organizations required even more effort as she gave time to building sets and preparing props. As an editor at the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, her work encompassed national and international publications and all the detailed work that is required to make these works convey their messages. When she retired from this work, she took up the reins of president of the Monday Musical Club and gave of her time to volunteer at Lakeland Medical in St. Joseph. She continues to spread the word of music as a most important element of life. Dolores was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, John C. Gunn. She is survived by her son Craig Gunn, of Okemos, MI